How to watch the Pope's funeral
The pontiff passed away on Easter Monday at the age of 88.
The death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday (21st April) has led to a period of mourning for Catholics around the world, which will culminate with a funeral mass at St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City this weekend.
The pontiff passed away at the age of 88 after suffering from a stroke, with the news coming less than 24 hours after he had appeared in a wheelchair at St Peter's Square to lead an Easter address. He had previously been recovering after a five-week spell in hospital with double pneumonia.
Unsurprisingly, his funeral is set to be attended by a number of prominent world leaders including Prince William and Prime Minister Keir Starmer – and you might be wondering how you can pay your respects by watching the ceremony from home.
Read on for everything you need to know about how to watch the Pope's funeral.
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How to watch the Pope's funeral: Time, schedule and coverage details
The funeral itself will begin at 9am, with coverage being shown on both BBC One and Sky News – so you can take your pick from either of those two broadcasters.
BBC One's coverage begins at 8:30am on Saturday 26th April and runs for four hours, with Reeta Chakrabarti presenting live from St Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
The special was added to the channel's schedules in place of Saturday Kitchen Live, Mary Berry: Love to Cook and Football Focus, all of which will now air on BBC Two.
Meanwhile, Saturday's broadcast of Breakfast has been cut short by 90 minutes and the BBC News and Weather will now air from 12:30pm, as opposed to the previously billed 1pm.
You will also be able to watch the BBC's coverage on both BBC iPlayer and the BBC News Channel.
Meanwhile, coverage on Sky News will begin at 8am and run until 1pm.
According to a release from the the channel, Sky News presenter Anna Botting will host a special programme live from Rome, with commentary from Sky News commentator Alastair Bruce, who will guide viewers through the funeral, taking place in front of St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
The special programme can also be viewed on YouTube and the Sky News App, will feature prominent guests and will include live streams of both the build-up to and the aftermath of the service.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
